


Don't Judge on What You See

by coraxes



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender, Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Harry Potter Setting, Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Character Study, Gen, Sorting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-28
Updated: 2015-12-28
Packaged: 2018-05-10 01:06:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 812
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5562829
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coraxes/pseuds/coraxes
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Sorting Hat often meets...strong personalities.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Don't Judge on What You See

**Author's Note:**

> okay so this is a bit of a character study thing that serves as an intro to a universe i hope to flesh out. other stories in the series will be zutara, but this is completely gen.
> 
> there's a lot of discussion. a few of my favorite characters get basically no discussion at all since their house is very obvious, to me at least. obviously ymmv! comments and criticism are <3

**sokka.**

“Interesting.  _Very_ interesting.”

 

_Oh, wow, this is weird.  How are you doing this, anyway?  Are you just looking through my mind?_

“In essence, yes.”

 

_Well, what’s it like?_

 

“You’re resourceful.  Stubborn, but you can adapt.  Clever, but you don’t desire knowledge for its own sake.  Protective of those you care about.  And you have a strong desire to prove yourself.”

 

_So not, like, brave?  Because let me tell ya, I think I’m pretty brave.  There was this one time Katara—but you already know that._

“Oh, there’s bravery too, and recklessness.  I doubt there would be a house in this school you wouldn’t do well in.  But the one that suits you most is—SLYTHERIN!”

 

**zuko.**

_I want to be in Slytherin._

“Is that so?”

 

_My whole family was in Slytherin.  I’m a pure-blood.  It’s where I belong._

“There are other Houses that would suit you more, you know.  One in particular.  You’re brave, arrogant, brash.  Stubborn, but honorable.  You could be great in Gryffindor—you could be _better_.”

 

_What do you know?  You’re just a stupid old hat poking around in my head!_

“And you have quite the temper, as well…”

 

_JUST SHUT UP AND PUT ME IN SLYTHERIN ALREADY!_

 

“Very well, if you insist it must be—SLYTHERIN!”

 

**suki.**

“Ah, here we are.  Loyal, patient, hardworking...”

 

_Oh!  Thank you!_

“And polite, too.  Better be HUFFLEPUFF!”

 

**ty lee.**

_Hey!  Can you put me in Slytherin, please?  I know I’m not really ambitious or cunning or anything, but I’m a pure-blood, and that counts, right?_

“I could.  You would do better elsewhere, you know.  Ravenclaw, perhaps, or Hufflepuff…”

 

_No, no, all my sisters have been in Hufflepuff, and anyway Azula and Mai are going to be in Slytherin!  And they’re my friends, so I—I need to._

“You don’t need to share a House to share a friendship.”

 

_Yeah, but—it’d be so much fun!  And we do everything together, so I want to be with them.  Pleeeease?_

 

“Alright, then, SLYTHERIN!”

 

**katara.**

_OH MY GOSH—_

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

 

**azula.**

“SLYTHERIN!”

_Of course I am._

**mai.**

“Ah—now _you_ don’t want me poking around your head.”

 

_Whatever._

“You don’t like giving up your control, do you?  Ah, yes, you like control.  Controlling your emotions, controlling your face.  You’re cold toward everyone you know, even those you care about.  Extending compassion only to a few.”

 

_Wow.  Thanks._

“But no argument, I see.  And yet…I see it there, buried deep.  You want power over yourself.  You want power over others, to make them notice you…”

 

_Stupid hat. Are you done yet?_

“I think I am.  Better be—SLYTHERIN!”

**toph.**

“Aren’t you a clever thing.”

 

_Yeah, I know, right?_

“Cunning, to be sure, to hide for as long as you did.  Talented.  Ambitious—you want to be great.”

 

_I want to be the great_ est, _thanks.  So, where’re you putting me?_

“That’s the question, isn’t it?  Is your ambition what defines you?  I see a great deal of bravery in you, _brashness._ A desire to be self-sufficient instead of a burden.  A willingness to do what you believe needs to be done, and no more.”

 

_I guess?  So what’s the deal, hat?  I can’t sit here forever, you know._

“I think—yes—better be GRYFFINDOR!”

 

**aang.**

“The young prodigy…how interesting.”

 

_Oh, this is so cool!  Can you see all my thoughts?  What about_ this _?_

“I can indeed.”

 

_What about—_

 

“I do have a job to do, and more students after you.”

 

_Oh.  Yeah.  Right._

“Clever, curious.  Focused on what interests you, and disliking what you aren’t interested in or don’t immediately succeed at…hmm.  But there is bravery there, too.  A desire to help others, to bring them hope, to cling to the principles you have been taught even when those who taught them are gone.  And if you find a cause, nothing could stop you from fulfilling it.”

 

_I…guess that sounds right?  You’re getting all that from me?_

“I am in your head, after all.  And…yes…I think that’s it…better be HUFFLEPUFF!”

 

**(+ zuko, again)**

“I remember you.  How long has it been?  Seven years?”

 

_Almost._

“Do you still think you belong in Slytherin, young man?”

 

_I guess not.  You really meant it, then?  That I belonged in Gryffindor?_

“Of course I did.  And you may have changed since then, but if I sorted you today, I’d still say the same thing…You like that, don’t you?”

 

_I…I’m glad I asked you to put me in Slytherin.  I don’t know if I’d have met the same people, otherwise.  But I wanted to thank you for telling me I was different.  It just took me a while to figure out that wasn’t a bad thing._

“Of course.  I was only doing my job, you know, but I’m glad to see you’ve learned some manners.”

 

_Yeah.  Right.  Well—I’m gonna go now.  Bye._


End file.
